Chapter 5: Innocence

"Bloodline Awakening huh?" Zeta muttered while looking over the mission system panel, intrigued by the context of the mission.

"Break her? Cuck her husband and make her kill herself huh?" Reading the context, a slow grin spread across his face.

"Isn't that what I'm best at? Haha" he laughed out loud, his voice low but still enough to echo inside the room.

"But... To really make her kill herself, I need leverage... Hm... Oh—" Just as he was thinking about how to acquire leverage against her, something that can push her to kill herself.

"Gotcha!" His grin widened even more. At this point, his face looked like someone who has loose muscle and is a maniac, which he is... Just a bit.

"Hah, but first, let's rest... And wait for the sun to rise! I also need to make sure I don't get seen by anyone other than "that" person... Or my escape plan will be ruined before I can even execute it." Muttering that, he pinched the bridge of his nose, got inside the blanket and fully covered his entire body, from head to toe in an attempt to sleep soundly and not be bothered by the stinky smell that occupies this room.

***

Morning, 10:11 AM, Jinxu Sect, Servant Courtyard.

The morning sun shone brightly in the sky casting a mosaic of golden specks on the ground.

The servant courtyard bathed in silence. At this hour of the Day, everyone is busy in their works— Perfect time to execute his plan that'll be crucial to complete the mission.

At this time, Zeta crouches on top of the Servant Courtyard's main resting building's rooftop. On the ground, a small girl could be seen writing something on the ground using a tree's branch.

"Wan Ru... The only daughter of Ming Yue that she spoils the most but acts like a strict mother to the public." Zeta muttered to himself, his gaze locked into the child on the ground.

"Well well well... I wonder how she would feel having her daughter used against her... Keke!" Zeta laughed cruelly to himself, a massive grin spreading across his face.

Just then, a blue butterfly flew over the child, which caught her attention as she tried to catch the butterfly with her tiny little hands.

"Little butterfly!" She shouted while pouting as she couldn't catch it.

"W-wait!" But as she saw the butterfly going toward the back exit that leads to the forest outside of the sect, she followed it without any hesitation.

And, no one even stopped her— not because they don't care, but because they all were so indulged in their own work that they all forgot about this innocent child that is now following a butterfly to the outside.

"Stinky heavens!" Zeta exclaimed in a low hush, his lips twitched seeing it all happen in front of him. "You're actually helping me for once!"

He watched as the innocent girl, untouched by the cruelty of the world yet followed the butterfly outside of the sect.

But he didn't feel any warmth, nor any pity towards her but rather, he saw opportunity, an opportunity that would make his plan flow out smoothly.

He then shifted, silently jumping down to the ground while making sure nobody saw him.

He then moved like a ghost, the stealth skills he learnt in his past life to assassinate people helping him to make sure no one spotted him.

And on top of that, the system had suppressed his presence. The combination of his stealth skills and the system's help made him less than a shadow, so he was pretty chill and confident that no one would spot him.

Wan Ru continued following the butterfly making her way toward a huge tree just 40 feet ahead of the sect.

And as Zeta followed her from behind, his lips curled.

Curiosity is good but being blinded by curiosity that you forget everything else? That's like stepping on a landmine by oneself without knowing.

And within a short amount of time, Wan Ru had already covered a significant distance and was now 56 feet ahead of the sect.

However, once again, she tried to catch the butterfly with her hand. She jumped while running, flailing her hands in the air in an attempt to catch the butterfly....however, her attempt failed, the butterfly slipped out of her reach.

And in a pinch, she started falling toward the rough, hard surface, her flowers that she had in her slipped out of her head alongside her.

'Perfect' Zeta thought, his eyes widened in how smooth his plan was going.

So he sprinted, applying most of his remaining Qi into his leg, which made him move so fast he appeared right before she touched the surface with her head, catching her by her waist.

Wan Ru blinked, her small head glancing up at the man who just saved her from injuring herself.

"Careful" Zeta flashed the kindest smile he could make. "This forest is more dangerous than it looks."

She hesitated, her eyes drifting off to her surroundings. Her expression was a mixture of confusion and curiosity laced with a small amount of fear.

"Who... Who are you?" She asked, her voice soft— there was no trembling.

Hearing her question, Zeta tilted his head, his expression soft and friendly.

"A friend!" He smiled. "You can call me big brother Z"

"Big brother Z?" She frowned, scrunching her nose. "That's a weird name."

Seeing her frown and saying such a thing made him chuckle, then he replied his tone low and soft, "It is. But I think it fits me since I like weird things."

Wan Ru took a step back, however, it wasn't because she was scared or anything. She just wasn't used to talking with strangers.

Her mother would make sure she doesn't need to talk with strangers and all the toys she has have been given to her by her mother herself, and she didn't take her out with her to actually get those toys together, which resulted in her not being used to strangers, even more so to strangers who talks this gently with her.

Zeta, who noticed her taking a step back, stepped forward, and then slowly, he crouched down to her level. From the side, he picked up the daisy that had dropped from her head and extended it toward her, holding it between his two fingers.

"You forgot this."

She stared at the flower that had slipped out of her head. Then, slowly, she took it from his finger.

"Thank you" she replied, her voice soft.. almost angelic.

He smiled in response to her words.

"You live nearby?" He asked, his gaze facing toward the huge buildings nearby.

"Yes." She nodded, "in that sect, my mamma works there!"

Zeta raised his right eyebrow a little while asking, "Really? What's your mother like?"

She hesitated for a moment to think before replying, "She's... A busy person. Gets angry a lot.. but she spoils me a lot... And love me... I think."

You think?

'Kek! Even better'

"Does she let you come out here often?" He asked, his tone gentle but if someone looked closely and focused on his face, they'd be surprised because the end part of his smile was twitching— not from the lack of skill to maintain the appearance he is taking, but rather from extreme excitement about how well his plan was going forward.

But that twitching didn't last long, it was only there for a few milliseconds.

"Only sometimes... When I finish my chores and be a good girl." As she finished her words, she puffed her chest out.

"She never let me out freely... But, those pretty butterflies... They always go so far and slip out of my hand and sight."

"Yeah, They do that," He nodded. "Butterflies are free beings... They go with the wind."

Hearing him, she smiled, her eyes getting a bit small while smiling.

In response to that, he did nothing but smile while thinking, 'Gotcha... Now just a bit more...'

She then sat down on a small rock, swinging her legs.

"Are you a cultivator?" She tilted her head.

He paused before speaking, "Sort of. I used to be something else... But now I'm just... Figuring things out while cultivating."

"Are you in trouble?" Wan Ru asked, genuine concern looming over her small face.

Zeta blinked at her questions.

She was smart, truly smart for how young she was.

He chuckled, "A little... But I'm good at hiding them and solving them. So, don't worry."

Hearing the word "hiding", Wan Rui's undeveloped brain automatically assumed it as hide and seek.

She leaned forward, her eyes wide open while a small tugged at her face, "Like hide and seek? I'm also good at that!"

"Oh? Then, maybe we can play together one day."

Hearing him, she beamed, her smile widening with happiness. Her face was full of innocence, as if she just found a friend and at that moment, Zeta smiled, he had accomplished what he had come here for.

"Hey," he said while lowering his voice, his voice turning into a whisper, as if he was sharing a secret, "Come here tomorrow. Same time. I wanna show you something cool!"

Hearing the word "Cool", her ears perked up.

"What is it?" She asked.

"It's a secret," he smiled, his finger hovering over his mouth while he winked in a playful manner.

"Humph!" She pouted, her cheeks filling up like a balloon but then she nodded.

"Okay, but I'll only come if it's super cool!"

"Haha, it will be the coolest thing you've ever seen!" He laughed.

"Awesome... oh, I have to go back now!" Wan Ru said as she remembered how she might be punished by her mother for wandering off into the forest without telling her.

"Bye, brother Z" She hopped off the rock and turned toward him while smiling like a fool and waving her hands up in the air.

"Bye-bye," Zeta returned the enthusiasm, waving his right hand in a mysterious way.

"Hmm... A kind daughter... Pity that she was birthed by filth..." He muttered coldly while heading back to the shack— Lin Tian's room to prepare for the endgame of this mission— which will take place this evening, when Ming Yue will come to give him the leftovers left untouched by the other servants.

***

A/N: Definitely longer than the average chapters I wrote but necessary for the mission ^⁠_⁠^